Believe it or not, it has been six months since I started the subscription service and stopped running display ads on my site. I figure its high time I gave you a status update.

I must start by thanking everyone who has donated, subscribed, used the Amazon links (US, UK, Canada), and sponsored the site. It is because of your support that I have been able to spend much less time at the old day job and more time on the comic. Just so you know what your money has bought, I now work two to three days at the day job, and I have not posted a rerun in six months. Also, I have had time for other projects, which I will tell you about when and if they are ready.

The Amazon links continue to far outperform the old display ads. Also, the Subscription Service has provided a nice steady source of income and moral support. An unexpected benefit of the Subscription Service is that the subscribers often catch and correct my typos long before the rest of you have to look at them. It is true that sponsors for the site have been few and far between, and thats fine. Better to do business with a few clients who know what I do and are excited to get involved than to work with a bunch of clients to whom I'm nothing but an anonymous source of eyeballs.

That brings us to donations. when I brought back the donation button six months ago people started calling it a funding drive. That was not my original intent, but there was a surprisingly positive response to the idea, and I feel like I’d be a fool not to keep it up. I am, essentially running on the PBS business model now. Every six months seems like a good time period for funding drives, but I don’t feel like I can ask you all for anything when you’ve already been so generous, so instead, I’m giving you a thank you gift. It’s a .zip file containing high res copies of all of my Super Hero comics in the order they appeared. This includes two prehistoric comics I failed to include when I re-ran the hero comics in July, 2011, and several comics that have been made since, including the one attached to this screed. You can claim your gift in one of three ways.

Subscribe: The download link for the zip file will be in the subscription e-mails all month. I should also point out that the high rez comics in the zip file are the exact same resolution the subscribers get.

Donate: If you donate during the month of October you will automatically be given the option to download the zip file after any donation, no matter how small, if you use the button to the left.

E-Mail me with the Subject “I want my thank you gift”: This is a free thank you gift. You don’t have to give me anything to get it. The e-mail address is scott@basicinstructions.net.

So, six months later, no one source of income is enough to pay all my bills, but between them I am making my primary living off of my comic strip. You might not know how rare that is. There are many nationally syndicated cartoonists who can’t say that. I remain the luckiest guy any of you know.

I'm not a subscriber, a donator, or even a sponsor, but I love your comics Scott. Living off of what you like is living a dream. I haven't gotten the opportunity to be like that. Good to know that you are doing well.

A question finally occurred to me reading this comic. How is it that the minions keep capturing Rocket Hat so often? Is the only person he can beat up the Emperor of the Moon Men? Or does Rocket Hat allow himself to be captured simply to have the opportunity to beat up the Emperor?

Thank you for the chance to donate to your cause. It's encouraging to know that someone was able to escape the rat race, or at least make a pit stop now and then. Thank you also for the hero comic collection! I've wanted that set for a long time.

If I donate a second time, may I send a copy of the hero comics to a friend of mine? He's a huge fan of superhero comics and I think he'd like them, but he's not much for following web comics.

Note from Scott: Thanks for asking. Part of the reason I decided to make the comics available as individual jpg files was to make it easy for you to forward them to people you think might enjoy them. If you tell someone else they might like my comic, and send them a hand selected sample or multiple samples you think they'd enjoy, you are doing me a HUGE favor!

Well, I've figured in the past that I contribute by buying the books as they come out. Lots of sites want donations to keep them going, and although I wish them well, it would be easy for $2 here $5 there to add up to more than I really can afford.

But I'll concede that BI is special, and this latest nudge was intelligently combined with a Rocket Hat episode. So although I'll pass on the subscription thing, I have sent a small one time donation, which will probably be repeated at irregular intervals.

By the way, if your unique artistic method can somehow produce an actual action scene of Rocket Hat beating the bejeezus out of the Emperor, that would be worth four times the donation I just made. Although admittedly, 4 x small = slightly less small.

Congrats! You totally deserve it. You put out original material multiple times a week, as opposed to some nationally syndicated cartoonists who have been milking the same damn jokes about lasagna and Mondays since 1978.

Ah, so that's why I don't find typos and grammatical errors in your comics anymore. Those pesky subscribers! The comment section on this comic used to be my primary source of grammar education. And now, if I sound like some ill-read boor, your "Subscription Service" will be the cause for it! You dun' ruinded my speak!

I look forward to these comics every week, and I even enjoy rereading the older ones. Aside from Garfield (gotta love a bitter fat cat :3) this is basically the only comic I read on a regular basis. I'm glad to see that things are working out for you- you deserve it! I thoroughly believe that those who do not find your work funny are simply unable to detect the subtle humor that has made it the great success that it is. Keep up the great work, Scott! ^-^